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This is a sedan chair. Cute, no? These human-powered contraptions were all the rage in eighteenth-century Britain, part of a class of vehicle used worldwide. A pair of porters carried the chair by the poles, as the passenger inside looked on, wishing, I suspect, that she could have afforded a carriage.

The wheeled version is known as the rickshaw, which was originally human-hauled (or pushed) and is now often pedalled. Central London is full of these contraptions, although there’s a Bill with Parliament at the moment to control their use (I think I’ll walk, thanks).

Autorickshaws (known as autos, tuk-tuks and many other variants) are used around the world, particularly in Asia and some American and African countries. With even the smallest motor comes mobility – which can unlock prosperity.

I’ll return to the theme of light vehicles in future. In the meantime, here’s a great sedan-chair nostalgia-fest created by two British railway companies in 1946, tempting tourists to historic Bath…

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